The role of the interviewer in survey participation

Using data from a survey of U.S. Census Bureau interviewers, this paper examines whether experienced interviewers achieve higher response rates than inexperienced interviewers, controlling for differences in survey design and attributes of the populations assigned to them. After demonstrating that the relationship is positive and curvilinear, it attempts to explain the mechanisms by which experienced interviewers achieve these rates and elaborate the nature of the relationship. It examines what behaviors and attitudes underlie the higher success, with the hope that they might be instilled in trainees.